21 October 2015

22

For my birthday last year, all I wanted was for people to not sing/quote/recite to me Taylor Swift's "22". I was of course among the last of my classmates/peers/friends to turn 22 and I'd seen too many of them post to Facebook on their birthdays "omg I'm feeling 22 hahaha".

Well, my year of "feeling 22" is drawing to a close, and I've got to say, it's been remarkable. Sometimes in the moment it doesn't feel so, but life just continues to get better. I have a constant fear of getting older, and getting "old", and settling down, and having babies, but I was also scared of getting a job and being a full-time adult and look at how wonderful my life is now... looking ahead, there is no reason life can't just be an exponential growth of happiness, that I can't enjoy every phase of life in the moment and reflect back on it fondly when it has passed.

22 started off with a bang when I finally, after years and years of talking about it, bought my very own car on my birthday. I am still obsessed with it. Fancy, as she's been named, is not the most practical car, nor is she the newest, but I love her and hope to never leave her. Ever.

22 was a bit of a rebellious year for me. Tame rebellions, but rebellions all the same... I pierced one of my ears a second, third, and fourth time (go big or go home when you're rebelling is my philosophy). The earrings have since been removed and the piercings are on their way to closing up, but that was a fun little experiment.

I went skydiving... from the moment we parked the car to the moment I leapt off the wing of the plane, I kept waiting for the fear to set in but strangely, I was nothing but thrilled through the entire experience.

After months of talking about it, I dyed my hair pink - three times. A couple months later, also after talking about it for months, I got a Brazilian Blowout. LIFECHANGING.

The third time, I did the color myself - notice my grey nails turned purple in the process.

22 was a year of travel. I took the second and third international trips of my life to Bonaire in February and to Costa Rice just this past weekend. I also took day or weekend trips around California to San Diego, Catalina Island and Big Bear. I flew back and forth to Utah seven times.

Birthday celebrations on Catalina Island

La Jolla Cove in March - so beautiful yet so smelly.

Watching the sun set at Big Bear Lake on Labor Day

Coke commercial at the Volcán Arenal in Costa Rica

It was also the year of sporting events. I was able to go see Real Salt Lake play its one Los Angeles game back in June. Sadly it was a loss. In July, I went to the opening ceremonies of the Special Olympics.

In September, I was ecstatic to see BYU play at UCLA - it was right on the heels of the amazing wins against Nebraska and Boise State and up until the last moments, it seemed we were going to pull off another win and an incredible season. The final result was again disappointing, but this was honestly in my top two favorite games I've ever been able to attend.

BYU v UCLA at the Rose Bowl with my roommate Mariana and other friends from the ward.

Finally, this month I went with a group of friends to the CONCACAF Cup to see the US Men's National Team take on Mexico... again... a disappointing result... I think I'm starting to see a trend here?

USMNT v Mexico at the Rose Bowl with Andrew, Russell, my roommates, and other friends from the ward.

My wonderful, sweet Grandma Wagstaff passed away. Although she's left a void, I am glad for the opportunities I had to visit with her in the months before her passing, and the time I was able to spend with my family. It was such a blessing to have been able to gather to celebrate her life in April and then reunite so soon for our family reunion in July.

This year I have also fallen in love with sparkling water and gotten my own Soda Stream (thanks, Andrew!) much to the delight of my coworkers. I got promoted at work and have been able to take on many of my own exciting projects, while also training three new people. My best friend got married and I was able to be a member of her line. I baked a lot of cakes and dressed as Rocket Racoon from Guardians of the Galaxy for Halloween.

Kourtney, Carly and I at Carly and Rockie's wedding in August

Kitty cake for my co-worker Angela's birthday

Maybe one of the biggest changes from being 22 was that over the past year, I have joined the ranks of true Taylor Swift lovers. I think the turning point was probably the video of her sending personalized gifts to her fans, or maybe her new album, which was released two days after I turned 22. Either way, I'm convinced. She's the best. And you know what, I'm going to be listening to 22 on repeat for the next five days. Because sometimes I'm happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time. And I'm just going to let myself be 22, until I'm not.